Discussing, politics, religion, & the family doctor at social gatherings… BIG social no-no’s!
I was at a dinner party the other night. It was nice until someone assumed that everyone in the crowd would be voting for Hillary! I corrected him, simply saying that I wasn’t. Then he called me a misogynist because I’m not on the Hillary bandwagon. Hey, I’m not voting for Trump either!
In hindsight, since the word misogynist rolled off the guys tongue with the same venom as the word “Racist” I probably should have kept my mouth shut.
I didn’t!
I asked this person to explain their logic. Things went down hill from there, I really need to learn how to disengage, or better yet not engage at all!
This person explained that is was time for America to have a woman president.
He went on to justify that statement by saying European countries had elected women leaders. I asked how he could justify voting for Hillary when we know she’s lied about at least one issue of national security regarding her email server, and that the FBI is currently investigating her.
I also pointed out that if she were a man, or Republican, or a citizen like everyone in the room, she’d be out of the presidential race and likely in jail. The response was, “Hillary is better than Trump.”
“What about Fiorina,” I asked.
“She’s a Republican!”
At which point, I pointed out that his choice of Hillary was in fact not based simply on the fact that America needed a woman president but party politics.
Then the guy tried to “WIN” the conversation by loudly asking me again if I was a misogynist and accused me of being afraid of a woman president. I told him that I thought his attitude was based in misandry and given that he was a man I found that quite ironic.
Thinking about it… That was when I should have stopped.
He didn’t understand what I’d said, so I should have realized I was having a war of wits with and unarmed person.
The discussion, such as it was, devolved into his pronouncements that no-one should have guns and everyone in America was afraid. I told him I thought that he was overstating the issue. Especially considering that Munich was currently on lockdown due to threats from ISIS. And that in the wake of Paris, and San Bernardino perhaps being prudent and more aware of our surroundings was not a bad idea.
His rather angry response was to tell me that being alert and aware of your surroundings, or preparing for things like fire, or earthquake, and more recently jihadi attacks, by noting things such as exits in a public place is paranoid and demonstrative of the cowardice of America.
Therefore I was paranoid and a coward. Uhhh WOW!
I pointedly asked him if he really thought it was paranoid to take just the slightest moment to note exits in case of an emergency. He responded that even if terrorists came into a restaurant shooting he’d be ok getting shot.
My brain rebooted.
In my world view you never just lay down and die, especially not when you have options, like the ability to retreat.
I asked him to explain himself and honestly was curious about the foundations of his belief, because that mindset is so completely Alien to me.
He started spouting circular and rhetorical talking points that led me to believe he worked for the progressive Democrat movement. After several rotations of the talking points, suddenly he threw in people don’t need to carry guns.
I said what?
Then I realized he was referring to the new Texas open carry law, and that somehow in his world view, now everyone was carrying guns all the time everywhere. I even pointed out that people exactly like him had managed to take the right of open carry away from their fellow citizens in California.
I kept asking questions and he kept parroting the progressive liberal talking points. It became very clear that he wasn’t actually thinking. I have no problem with people having differing opinions from mine, I have a real problem with people regurgitating stuff that they’ve not really thought about.
Granted there was some alcohol involved and somewhere in my brain there was a diagnostic running that was questioning if I was drunk and being an ass.
The little boy in me said “He Started it!”
I’d decided to disengage because I was tired of making points that he tried to erase by parroting canned talking points, but being unable to discuss or expound on any of those points.
Later, It occurred to me that this person had probably never in his entire live been in a situation where they were the least bit on the edge. His world experiences were so safe or he was so oblivious, that he actually believed he was safe from everything all the time. This is a person who believes they don’t have to have an earthquake kit because the government will be there to make everything fine, instantly.
At that moment, I wasn’t able to look at this person with anything but contempt. I saw the guy as prey, a sheep, weak, and someone that I wouldn’t miss if I never saw him again. If an earthquake had happened at that exact moment, I’d have done nothing to ensure his safety. Sheep die all the time…
Things really took a turn towards the surreal when my other half told the guy he was being an ass by not allowing me or anyone else to complete a sentence without interruption.
The other half even said I wasn’t being an Ass, but that the other guy was. I began looking for signs I’d entered an alternate universe, I didn’t find any so…
Surprise Surprise Surprise! I’m not a complete asshole!
That my other half took a side like that, surprised the hell out of me
Normally I’m allowed to make an ass of myself without comment. On rare occasion I’m told I’m being an asshole, and that I need to shut up.
In this situation apparently, my only fault was answering someone who was clearly interested in a battle of wits, they thought they’d win.
They weren’t prepared to have someone say, “Defend your opinions.”
I was really worried that the other half was pissed at me. I asked about it and was told it wasn’t me.
A friend reminded me that I should have dropped to my Southern upbringing and simply avoided the whole conversation with;
“How nice” or “Bless your heart”
That’s really good advice and I’ll be taking it next time.